This invention relates to playing courts, for example squash, handball and racquet ball courts, wherein a ball (in squash and handball of moderately hard rubber; in racquet ball, of somewhat softer rubber) is played from some or all of the four walls and/or ceiling encompassing the players. For illustrative purposes, a squash court conventionally consists of a forward or front wall whose playing surface has a height of sixteen feet and a width of eighteen feet, six inches (twenty feet by forty feet for racquet ball and handball). The playing surface of the side walls extend rearwardly at the sixteen foot height for twenty-two feet, proceeding rearwardly for an additional ten feet at a height of twelve feet for a total length of thirty-two feet (twenty feet by forty feet for racquet ball and handball). The rear wall, which includes a door for access to the court, has a playing surface height of six feet, six inches (twelve feet for racquet ball and handball), and is sometimes made of glass so that spectators may view the play.
Typically, with the exception noted above respecting the use of glass for the rear wall, the playing surfaces of such courts (e.g. the inner facing surfaces of the walls) are constructed by lining the walls with blocks of maple, with the edge grain thereof providing a tough, resilient playing surface having the right "bounce" for play.
Unfortunately, these courts are initially expensive to construct and are difficult and expensive to maintain. For example, a squash court of conventional design at the present date could represent an initial capital investment of say, $25,000 (exclusive of the building in which it is erected) and could incur additional annual maintenance fees of approximately $2,000. When it is considered that clubs and other commercial recreational facilities invariably include many such courts, the initial cost of investment and continued maintenance is staggering.
Attempts have heretofore been made to substitute other materials for those conventionally used, without great success. For example, playing surfaces have been attempted by using coatings of enamel over a wood substrate in an attempt to minimize maintenance costs. Unfortunately, such surfaces do not have the frictional characteristics necessary to the achieving of the correct bounce, and balls when in play tend to skip. Furthermore, these surfaces, although relatively durable, will last for only a relatively short period of time.
Playing courts have been proposed wherein the walls and the playing surfaces thereof are entirely of glass. Although glass may be useful to permit spectator viewing, it is extremely expensive, and its inherent heaviness makes its support from a structural standpoint extremely difficult. U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,465 discloses a glass-walled court. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,758,106 and 3,859,768 also teach various court constructions which are attempts to devise improved techniques of construction in order to overcome the problems associated with conventional design.
It is the purpose and objective of the present invention to describe a novel playing court construction which not only is reasonable in cost to construct and is virtually maintenance free, but also provides a consistent playing surface which provides more consistent playing or "bounce" characteristics than conventional maple-lined courts, and is superior thereto in its surface uniformity. Also, there is more uniformity of the play between the side and rear wall (where rear wall is transparent) than occurs when conventional side walls and a glass rear wall are combined.